Dotty Dumpling's Dowry

nchrist13

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

all in all a relatively good bar, however if you visit on a saturday nite then you're in for a good deal... $7 micro pitchers. they have a decent selection of local micros which previous reviewers have mentioned, i would just like to take a moment to point out that they do have lake louie brews on tap (and others like 3F alpha king, bell's 2 hearted, and a couple wisconsin dank brews for your sipping pleasure). the food? well, it's nothing special, but not a bad place to eat either. get a burger, they don't really have much else.

my only piece of advice is to ask for a non-chilled glass. for some reason they have the bad habit of providing you one unless you ask otherwise. oh, and the service took a hit in my review because my gf has gotten rather shoddy service there in the past. my experience has ranged from average to mediocre.

08-29-2005 22:59:01 | More by nchrist13

blackie

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

nice enough atmosphere - dark and wooden with a mix of UW paraphernalia and aviation trinkets handing from the ceiling and adorning the walls, has usually been pretty quiet during the early dinner hours

selection is pretty average and doesn't really seem to change much - local options are of course always available and you'll likely find some sort of Bell's, Lake Louie, and New Glarus on tap among others, though these tend to be standard offerings and nothing really exciting, all beers are served in standard pints

given the ho-hum beer selection, the fried sampler basket with cheese curds and mac & cheese wedges is what keeps me coming back, and the burgers are really good as well

while service has been good when service has been had, I've gotta knock them down a notch considering the time we were forced to walk out after sitting around for 15 minutes without any acknowledgment

08-29-2009 16:41:51 | More by blackie

citrusjim

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

Happened to be staying at the Doubletree next door to Dotty's. Looked good, went in. Comfy barroom vibe (dark, tvs, etc.). Beer selection is decent with some local stuff on tap. I had Bell's Two Hearted. They claim to have Madison's best burger. I ordered one, it was good, not the best I have had though. You need to order fries separately! I had an order of Jambalaya too. I bit watery for me. The server was nice - there is no shortage of students available for this job. The price is right where it should be. I could see my self there once in a while if I lived in town. All in all, a pretty good place.

02-14-2008 12:58:07 | More by citrusjim

Atron67

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$$

A- I actually like the atmosphere of this place, idk why it stands out as being better, because I know a bunch of other places that are pretty much the same thing, but it comes together much better here, anyway, its kinda reminds me of applebees, except minus the generic boring part. theres airplanes and other things on the walls, some woodwork. overall pretty nice. gives a good bar atmosphere

Q- everything seemed pretty well done, and was worth the cost of it.

S- the server was nice and quick, though not exactly a beer person, confused capital amber with two hearted. ohh well, got the orders correct

S- the beer selection was pretty standard for madison, two hearted, capital amber and hoegarten were ordered, stella artois and a couple other INBev were present. a new glarus fat squirrel, Bud and bud light, a couple more but not much more.

F- food was pretty tastey and came in large amounts, although fries dont come with the burger, which stinks becuase the burgers are novel, but not that special, the appetizers are nice as well.

V- i didnt spend too much but the menu is mainly burgers, and at 7/8 a burger without fries its not great, but i feel like something at that price deserves either a bigger burger, or a little bit of fries. side of fries are 3 or so, so its 10/12 for fries and a burger....

08-15-2008 19:39:13 | More by Atron67

miskatonic

New York

3.48/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Ok, so I am obviously applying East Coast sensibilities and experiences to a Great Lakes area establishment, and a Madison institution at that, but I think as many other reviewers have mentioned there must have been something left behind at the old location. I really like the general look of the wall decorations and the logo of the place in general, but it seemed like the interior of this place was designed with maximum tonage in mind - the booths are crammed into every corner from the fron door right up to the bar and the open view kitchen, and the newness of all the wood interiors and fixtures contrasts poorly with the pastichy old posters and signs. The bottle selection is pretty good, but could definitely improve easily by carrying a wider range of local microbrews, and though the 24 taps are impressive in number and by the shortage of BMC type beers, there is a macro-import heavy lean (Stella, Newcastle, etc.). The cheese curds were stellar, and the o-rings were awesome, but the burgers, which this place is obviously quite famous for (there are more than a dozen different burgers on the menu, and many plaques touting years worth of awards won) were nothing to write home about. The would-be-missus and I split each others burgers and neither was worthy of that much praise (good certainly, but I've definitely had better in many other places around the US). All in all I wish the space was a little less cramped, and thought they could definitely take better advantage of their tap space, but the prices are very very reasonable and food is tasty. Though the burgers don't seem award worthy to me, this place is definitely worth a visit for some pretty tasty food and some fine Wisconsin beers.

12-05-2006 22:58:20 | More by miskatonic

Sixpoint

New York

3.43/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3

Ho-hum. I guess I miss the old days. Dotty Dumplings used to be off State St. near the Capitol. They had a truly classic location, in an old turn-of-the-century building with high tin ceilings and a balcony.

Well, those days are gone. That building was tore down, despite the protests of hundreds. In its place is the new Madison Civic Center. Dottys is now over by the Kohl Center (and I'm sure they do just as good numbers).

The atmosphere is all right, but pretty standard. The quality of the food has gone downhill. There's just no love in it anymore. The draft lines are pretty impressive... I think they have 20 or so. But let's face it, what good is it when half of them suck? There's Bass, Guiness, Harp, Berghoff, Blatz, Blue Moon, Amstel Light, Red Hook, Goose Island, etc. The only real good ones (man! I'm a beer snob) are Bell's and New Glarus.

The food is definitely not what it used to be. I think what's making this place go nowadays is the three rules of real estate: location, location, location.

11-16-2004 13:30:49 | More by Sixpoint

alphadudetothemax

1/5  rDev -72.5%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 1 | food: 1 | $$$$

This is hands down the worst service I've ever received from any restaurant. The girl gave us the wrong food, and when we told her this, she refused to send it back and give us the right food. So okay, whatever, this still looks delicious, but when the bill came several other things were added onto it, in addition to the beer I ordered was twice as much then from what the menu said it would be. When pointed out to the waitress, she claimed she served us that food that was on the bill only. So, she flat out lied to us. We then asked for the manager, where she literally said "no!" and walked away. So we had to physically grab someone else, and they steadfast with their waitress and refused to correct the bill. After ten minutes of arguing, my friends wanted to relent so we just paid that amount and left. We were ripped off, hands down. I would never, never recommend this place for anyone, unless you want to be a victim of robbery and treated like crap. Just an awful place.

01-16-2013 20:02:52 | More by alphadudetothemax